When we've had budget issues and need to hire someone I try to find a balance between what we can afford and the effort we're looking for. A good way to do this for us is to hire less than 40 hours a week. A savvy employee enjoys this, as it leaves them time to work on their own projects (which we fully support) while having a base income. We've had this system now for a few years that has worked wonderfully, and even though we've lost some great people to their own startups I'm really proud of them and we keep goodwill that allows us to call them back in a contract basis if needed.